Now this is something you haven’t seen in Africa – yet! There had been a few scattered reports of crocodiles in trees in the scientific literature. So, University of Tennessee researcher Vladimir Dinets led a team to discover if these were isolated incidences or regular behavior. Studying crocodilians on three continents – Africa, Australia and North America, the team identified four species that are able to climb trees – one croc having been seen 13 feet above ground. The jury is out on why these crocodile species climb trees. Answers range from territorial security and observation of prey to the regulation of their body temperature. It will be interesting to follow the team’s future research.
The study is published in Herpetology Notes. Here’s the link to the report, which includes some interesting photos: http://www.herpetologynotes.seh-herpetology.org/Volume7_PDFs/Dinets_HerpetologyNotes_volume7_pages3-7.pdf
If you want to go to Africa to see the crocodiles yourself, book a private safari today!